Five Things: The most important changes to Augusta National

Monday, April 4, 2016

By Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun

Tiger Woods plays his shot on the 17th hole from under The Eisenhower Tree during the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The famed tree was removed in 2014 after dying in a winter ice storm. (Ross Kinnaird, Getty Images files)

Photographed by:Ross Kinnaird, Vancouver Sun

Augusta National screams tradition, but there have been significant course changes over the years:

Reversing the nines. The original design had the golf course starting with what is now No. 10 and ending on the ninth green. For the second Masters, the nines were reversed, creating the “back nine on Sunday” effect — with Amen Corner at the 11th, 12th and 13th — that has resulted in many a dramatic finish.

Converting to bentgrass greens. More tolerant to colder winter temperatures and less grainy than Bermuda, bentgrass can be cut shorter, meaning faster speeds on slopey greens, which are Augusta’s primary line of defence.

Adding a “second cut.” The course had always played with little if any rough, but a “second cut” was just enough to narrow the fairways and keep players from spinning the ball if they found the rough off the tee.

Major overhaul in response to ball and club advancements. Nine holes were lengthened with changes to tee boxes, and several bunkers and fairways were slightly altered. The original 6,800-yard course was now 7,270 yards. (It’s 7,435 today.)

Eisenhower Tree dies. Unable to be saved after a winter ice storm, the ball-eating pine on the left side of the 17th fairway, which the 34th president always hated, was removed, and to date has not been replaced. Maybe Ike was right.